Hard Hitting Analysis of Steelers Football

The Steelers have boasted one of the most talented and productive receiving corps in the NFL in recent years, especially last season when both Antonio Brown and second-year sensation JuJu Smith-Schuster caught over 100 passes. But as the title of this article implies, Brown will not be on the team in 2019, thanks to his ugly and bitter divorce that ultimately resulted in a trade to the Raiders in exchange for a third and a fifth-round draft choice.

In Smith-Schuster, who already has a Pro Bowl under his belt after also posting 1,426 receiving yards to go along with 111 catches, the question is, can he fill Brown’s very large shoes as the number weapon in Pittsburgh’s offense? Another question revolves around the receiving corps and whether or not Pittsburgh has enough weapons to complement Smith-Schuster.

Lining up alongside Smith-Schuster as the number two receiver in 2019 is expected to be veteran Donte Moncrief, who Pittsburgh signed to a free agent deal in March. In five seasons in the NFL, Moncrief, 25, has 200 receptions for 2,543 yards and 21 touchdowns. Moncrief spent his first four seasons as a member of the Colts before signing a one-year deal with the Jaguars last offseason.

Despite playing in Jacksonville’s anemic passing offense that included Blake Bortles at quarterback, Moncrief managed to catch 48 passes for 668 yards and three touchdowns a year ago. He had his best season in 2014 with Indianapoli, reeling in 64 passes for 733 yards and six touchdowns. This just so happened to be right before Andrew Luck was plagued by the injury bug. Beings that Luck has a quarterback pedigree much more in-line with Ben Roethlisberger, Moncrief may prove to be more productive for the Steelers.

If any receiver figures to challenge Moncrief for the number two spot (at least prior to the draft), it’s second-year man James Washington, a second-round pick out of Oklahoma State last year. However, to say Washington’s rookie season was underwhelming is, well, an understatement, as he caught just 16 passes for 217 yards and one touchdown. Late in the season, Eli Rogers made his return from the ACL tear he suffered in the divisional round loss to the Jaguars the previous January, appearing in three games and catching 12 passes for 79 yards.

But it was another young receiver who seemed to find a bit of a niche as a slot in Pittsburgh’s offense. I’m talking about Ryan Switzer, a return specialist that came to the Steelers in a trade with Oakland last summer. Switzer was targeted 44 times, catching 36 passes for 253 yards and a score. Rounding out the Steelers depth chart at receiver are virtual unknowns Ka’Raun White, Tevin Jones and Trey Griffey.

Steelers 2019 Wide-Receiver Needs

Thanks to the Steelers free agent activity where they addressed needs at cornerback, inside linebacker and receiver, this might be a year where Kevin Colbert’s annual axiom of “Best player available” is the way to go. If that happens to be receiver–and if there’s a player whose value at number 20 exceeds that of linebacker or corner–it wouldn’t be a huge shock if that’s the direction the team goes with pick number one.

After all, Smith-Schuster is really the only proven asset at receiver, and it’s paramount that the Steelers infuse their offense with as many weapons as possible in 2019. Therefore, the draft priority at receiver may accurately be described as Moderate-High

Please lend a hand by sharing this on Facebook, Twitter, WhatsApp etc... Thanks.